The Hole In The Sky
9 to 18 miles
above the earth’s surface, a gas called ozone surrounds the planet. The ozone
layer acts as a barrier between earth and ultraviolet radiation from the sun
however, pollution has caused the ozone layer to thin, exposing life on
earth to dangerous levels of radiation. Exposure to these ultraviolet rays
increases the risk for skin cancer and it damages plants and marine ecosystems.
Even though humans have reduced the ozone hole significantly by restricting the
use of chemicals, many believe the situation still deserves much attention.
The second layer of the earth’s atmosphere, the stratosphere, contains the ozone layer. This layer is made up of a highly reactive molecule called ozone which contains three oxygen atoms. Even though there are only three molecules of ozone for every ten million molecules of air, it plays a significant role. Think of the ozone layer as Earth's personal sunscreen. Absorbing about 98% of damaging UV light, the ozone layer is a critical element to why we live healthy lives. But sadly, the layer has gotten thinner due to the chemical called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. CFCs contain the elements carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. They are commonly found in refrigerants, aerosols, and plastic products. When CFCs are exposed to ultraviolet rays in the atmosphere, they breakdown into substances in which react with the oxygen atoms causing the ozone molecule to break.
A commonly asked question about the hole in the stratosphere is, “Is ozone depletion leading to climate change?” After all the research I could find, I would conclude that it doesn’t. While some extra UV rays of the Sun slip through the hole, their effect is to cool the stratosphere more than warm the troposphere. So this increase in UV rays cannot explain the increase in temperature of the planet's surface. However, scientists have recently discovered that the colder stratosphere has resulted in faster winds near the pole, which then travels all the way near the equator affecting tropical circulation and rainfall. So ozone depletion does affect atmospheric circulation but doesn’t cause global warming.
Antarctic is
where the ozone hole has formed. Due to the region's low temperatures, the
conversion rate of CFCs to ozone-damaging chlorine is significantly sped up.
90% of CFCs in the atmosphere were emitted by industrialized countries in the
northern hemisphere. In 1989 the Montreal Protocol banned the production of
ozone depleting substances. Since then, the amount of chlorine and other
ozone-depleting elements in the atmosphere have been falling. Scientists
predict that chlorine levels will return to normal by around 2070, resulting in
the ozone layer to be fully strengthened.
Although
without the Montreal Protocol pact, the U.S.
would have seen an additional 280 million cases of skin cancer, 1.5 million
skin cancer deaths, and the world would be at least 25 percent warmer;
scientists believe the problem still deserves attention. Just recently, there
were reports of possible violations regarding the Montreal pact with multiple
developing countries. If more countries believe it is “fine” to break the
protocol, then we won’t make any progress helping the ozone hole. Scientists
believe the pact deserves funding to help out developing countries in following
the rule. Is it worth to fund the Montreal pact? In addition, there are also
many coolants such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons that are still damaging the
ozone layer but aren't addressed in the Montreal pact(not as damaging as CFCs).
Should there be an additional rule set to the Montreal pact? Is it worth
spending more time and money on helping the ozone layer even though it is
projected for there to be no hole by 2070?
Work Cited
18 comments:
I believe it is definitely worth the money. As we learned today, if the Ozone Layer were to completely disappear or greatly deplete, the planet would fall. Skin cancer and cataracts would be on the rise, agriculture would struggle, and all of the world’s animals and plants would decrease in population and eventually die out. Since the Ozone Layer quite literally keeps us all from burning alive, I believe that it is extremely important that we sustain/repair it.
I'm going to have to agree with Cara and say that it is worth spending more time and money on helping the ozone layer, even though it is projected for there to be no hole by 2070. If we are to continue to maltreat the ozone layer, humans will not be the only ones who suffer. Agriculture would suffer, as well as wild plants and animals. In addition, the ozone layer is a protection from the dangers of space. Not only would we be more susceptible to space debris but also to drastic temperature increases. It will be extremely difficult to turn back if we do reach this point, so we must begin rectifying our actions now. In order for this to happen, governments, internationally, to pass and enforce laws protecting the ozone layer.
I believe it is worth spending more time and money in helping developing countries to follow the Montreal Protocol. Even though it is predicted to have no ozone hole in 2070, humans constantly create new substances that also could contribute to the widening of the hole besides CFC's. Thus, to reach the goal of no hole in the next fifty years, we need to be able to regulate these countries who are not following the important protocol's rules.
I'd have to agree with many others that we should still spend our time and money to help the ozone layer. Although it's projected that the hole will fill by 2070, governments need to pass and enforce laws that protect the ozone layer.
This is a great article! I’m glad to see that after recognizing a problem, we took the steps necessary to mitigate the harmful effects. Although we still need to reduce our carbon emissions, this is a great step. Using money and resources to help the environment is always for a good cause, no matter how much it costs.
This article goes so perfectly with this weeks unit, ozone! It’s so amazing to see how much we helped the ozone and reduce our carbon emissions.
Spending extra time and money is vital to protecting our ozone layer. I believe that developing countries should be held accountable, because without them, we may face other problems we cannot solve. I now understand how ozone does not contribute rot global warming, but does contribute to many other problems such as increases in cases of skin cancer. Overall, a very informative article!
I do believe that extra money and efforts should be made in support of protecting our ozone layer. Furthermore, I think that extra practices and rules should be placed on the Montreal Pact because there are many substances that harm our ozone layer that it disregards. Protecting our ozone is vital because without it, the health of many citizens would be negatively affected.
The ozone layer helps us people down on Earth with a lot of things such as protection from UV rays which could cause skin cancer and other diseases. When scientists found out that there was a huge hole in the ozone layer, everyone didn’t believe the scientists. When they proved everyone wrong, the whole world got nervous of what could happen. It is definitely worth spending the money and efforts to protect the ozone layer because it does so many things that helps the population from becoming extinct.
Wow, this blog was very interesting! I never really knew that there was a hole in the sky until the lesson we had on ozone depletion. It never occurred to me that gas known as the ozone layer was so important because it prevents us from getting skin cancer or cataracts. I can’t believe that the depletion of the ozone was so bad that they had to make a protocol to prevent countries from using CFCs because it was destroying the ozone. This shows how we must come together to put an end to ozone depletion once and for all in order to help protect and maintain a sustainable environment.
It is definitely worth spending time and money on saving the ozone layer. There are a lot of disadvantages if we don’t take any action soon. If we don’t do anything now, the prediction that there will be no hole in the ozone layer might not become true. Laws should be made to restrict hydrochlorofluorocarbons and other pollutants that are still causing damage to the ozone.
I never knew there was a problem with the ozone until we brought it up in class. I think it's really interesting to see how the ozone layer has depleted and what we are trying to do to save it. I believe that if we all come together to face similar challenges like this then we can face these big environmental issues.
Protecting the world we live in should be a priority for envying that lives on it. The Montreal protocol was a great step in helping the cause, but it not anywhere close to being solved. Saving the ozone layer should be near the top of governments’ list in terms of preserving because it plays such an important role for living organisms.
The Montreal Protocol is the finest example of international cooperation in regards to climate action, as to respond to questions of its expansion: any global agreement on the changing climate is significant and good. From your article, it is clear that the ozone hole would have been an absolutely devastating event if it was to expand, and we curbed it. What this says to me is that it is possible to change the course of our history. As you so nicely pointed out, the consequence of a massive reduction of ozone would have been catastrophic, but we are at the horizon of another giant issue which is the warming of earth’s climate. What the chapter in history surrounding the ozone hole can show us, is that in the face of unprecedented odd, humanity can come together to affect positive change. Essentially, we need a new Montreal protocol to address climate change just as we addressed our usage of CFCs. A wonderful article.
Great post, it was very informative and interesting to read. You raise some interesting questions. I strongly believe that hydrofluorocarbons should be a added to the Montreal protocal and money and time spent to ensure the rules of it are being enforced. Although the ozone hole may disappear by 2070, if more countries decide to neglect to follow the rules set forth by the Montreal protocal, this fact may change and the condition of the hole may deplete. Furthermore, although less harmful than CFCs, HFCs are still damaging to the environment and, at the very least, alternatives should be researched.
The Montreal Protocol displayed a great sense of urgency on the part of global powers to induce an effective change in the conditions of our environment today. Nonetheless, people must act upon the rules of the Protocol and ensure that they are holding themselves to the standard of its rules for its existence to actually be relevant in the fight for environmental change.
I would have to say that it is definitely worth spending more money in trying to fix the Ozone layer despite the fact that it may or may not heal itself by 2070. I think this because climate patterns continue to surprise us so there is no way we know for sure that other factors might prolounge this processes, but if we spend more time and money in trying to fix it then there could be a better chance of this assurance. Especially since just recently they discovered n20 to be an Ozone depleting substance. But overall great blog post. I like how you tied it into what we are learning about currently.
The ozone layer seems like such a far off thing from everyday life but the more we have studied it the more it seems to be affecting our everyday life. The way our climate is rapidly changing I don't think there is any way we could know what is going to happen in the near future. Hopefully the montreal protocol will soon begin displaying its benefits and the urgency that is needed to solve this increasingly dangerous problem.
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